Presidency Message -- January

Dear Sisters:

We hope that the Christmas season found you surrounded by family and friends and that His spirit was felt in great abundance as you celebrated His birth.

As I was reading this week's church news, the article entitled “Christmas is Always Near” caught my eye and I wanted to share a few thoughts from it with you all.

           

“On that first Christmas, the angels sang, “Peace on earth, good will to men.”  The peace Christ brought, and still brings, was not intended for just one silent night and one glorious day.

            

President David O. McKay said: “At Christmastime, more than at any other, we think of others and try to express either in word or deed our desire to make others happy.  Herein lies the secret of true happiness.  ‘He that will lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s shall find it,’ is sound philosophy, which the true Christmas spirit helps us to understand.”

            

These thoughts of CHRISTMAS AS A YEAR-LONG EVENT have been expressed:

                                         

Christmas is not a day or a season,

but a condition of heart and mind.

If we love our neighbors as ourselves;

If in our riches we are poor in spirit

And in our poverty we are rich in grace;

If our charity vaunteth not itself,

But suffereth long and is kind;

If when our brother asks for a loaf,

We give ours instead;

If each day dawns in opportunity

And sets in achievement

however small;

Then every day is Christ’s day &
Christmas is always near.

Poem by John Wallingford; quoted by President Howard W. Hunter 1993

As we begin a new year, may we keep and magnify the love, peace, charity and joy in our hearts that we have felt during the past few weeks, for it truly does embody the spirit and the work of Relief Society as well.

With much love,

Sister Lisa Hunt

Click here to download this as a document

Monthly Spotlight - January 2011

This month's spotlight is from the Lehi 9th Ward.

We want you all to meet Lucile Christofferson... quilter extraordinaire.

photo from heraldextra.com

 Lucile was interviewed for The Daily Herald  and the interview appeared on December 17th. To read the article about her click here.

Lucile made 95 quilts in the past 2 years! Her goal was one hundred by this year's end and she almost reached it. She told the Daily Herald that she will finish those last five and start the whole thing over.

Lucille is 88 and she still uses the same sewing machine to make her quilts that she's been using since 1950.

We hope that if you see Lucile around you'll say hello and get to know her a little better.

Provident Living Projects Preview

Our stake provident living experts have some amazing projects you can do on your own to add to your emergency and food storage supplies.

We wanted to let you know that you should start saving a few things from around your house to make your own fire starters, etc.

Start saving up:

- Dryer lint
- Toilet paper rolls
- Clam cans
- Tuna cans

Also: Start stocking up on candles (Not the jar kinds. Free standing/ taper candles will melt down much easier.). Red and green candles on clearance would be perfect as well as candles from the DI.

These projects are soon to come right here on the stake Relief Society blog!

The Relief Society Declaration

THE RELIEF SOCIETY OF
THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS

are beloved spirit daughters of God,
and our lives have meaning, purpose, and direction.
As a worldwide sisterhood, we are united in our devotion
to Jesus Christ, our Savior and Exemplar.
We are women of faith, virtue, vision, and charity who:

Increase our testimonies of Jesus Christ
through prayer and scripture study.

Seek spiritual strength by following the
promptings of the Holy Ghost.

Dedicate ourselves to strengthening
marriages, families, and homes.

Find nobility in motherhood
and joy in womanhood.

Delight in service and good works.

Love life and learning.

Stand for truth and righteousness.

Sustain the priesthood
as the authority of God on earth.

Rejoice in the blessings of the temple,
understand our divine destiny,
and strive for exaltation.

from lds.org